Here are a few interesting details about ZombiU. I cut out some bits so if you want to learn more head over to http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/40417/features/5-zombiu-facts-we-learned-today/?page=1

ZombiU has been inspired by Skyrim:

"You'd expect Ubisoft to name Resident Evil as an influence, especially Resi 2 and 3 as they were set in a city. You also won't be surprised to learn that it has been influenced a 28 Days Later, Danny Boyle's horror film which is set in London.

However, Bethesda's RPG Skyrim has also been named as an influence as has Namco Bandai's Dark Souls."

Leave secret messages for your friends:

"The capture the flag multiplayer mode we played at E3 was great. The player with the Wii U GamePad placed zombies near the flag while the other - using the Wii U Pro Controller - tried to survive. What Ubisoft didn't tell us at the time is that you can also help your friends in the main story mode by leaving messages.

This new community feature - called Blacklight - allows players to scan environments and reveal messages left by your friends (other survivors). This means you'll be able to help each other out during the adventure and there is even a secret code that you'll discover in the story which gives you the ability to leave secret messages.

This seems like exactly the sort of thing that Nintendo President Satoru Iwata was talking about when he unveiled Miiverse."

Hunt your zombified friends:

"NG: Nintendo used ZombiU as an example of how its Miiverse system will work in the game. How in-depth do you plan to integrate Miiverse or other social elements into the game?

UBI: We have developed online features for the community. Players will be able to kill their zombified friends and recover the stuff in their inventory."

Your character will improve the longer you survive:

"Dying is one of the best things about ZombiU. With the one-bite-and-you're-dead rule, it could have been unfair but when you hit the ground, it isn't game over. After dying in Buckingham Palace, we respawned in Shadwell station before returning to the Mall to shoot down zombies, including your old character. Brilliant.

You'll want to experience this but you should try and survive as long as possible as your character will improve the longer you stay alive.

As Ubisoft explain, "Each character you play gets progressively better at handling weapons. For instance, the more your current survivor plays with a hand gun, the faster he or she will be able to draw, shoot and reload, accuracy will improve and kickback decrease. If this survivor dies, the next survivor you play will have to learn these skills for him or herself all over again. Now there's a good reason to care about losing an experienced survivor! On the bright side, it's a meaningful challenge, and it gives you the opportunity to try out a new weapon and different survival tactics to see if you can do better!"

So if you do manage to survive for a long time, we imagine it will get get even more tense as you won't want to lose your skills."

- game was originally going to be 7-8 hours - campaign now takes 15-20 hours, depending on your skill level - 17 levels which "are bigger" than what we've seen demoed - 5 "specials" zombies (more skilled) without counting the bosses - The messages/notifications we can see in the game come from the comunity/other players - There are 4 npc characters in the campaign who'll be the story drivers

- Inside Buckingham, you're looking for the "Royal Doctor" - he is researching a cure to the Zombie virus - this location is after 7-8 missions - messages left by other players will include content from both friends and players in general - the community can rate the message to let players know if it's worthwhile or not - total staff includes 90 in Montpellier, plus a team of 30 in Romania doing the multiplayer maps - when some key codes are scanned, they are added to the mini-map so you don't have to remember - three slots on the GamePad are for quick item access - use these slots for your most-used backpack items - Zombies are attracted to sound and light

- One of the NPCs, the "prepper" who was the guiding voice in the E3 demo, has a wife "Sondra", from whom he is separated - Prepper's approach is to barricade survivors within the safehouse, whereas his wife belongs to an organization that looks to have survivors flee the city - 2/3 NPCs which will influence how the game scenario evolves - crossbow is more efficient for outside levels and long distance shots - when you die, the character you take on next is randomly generated - there will be 4 or 5 types of special zombies

- on-screen messaging system lets you know what your friends or your friend's zombie are doing - you can also learn what your zombi (former player) is doing to others - there will be some form of leaderboards to keep track of these interactions

EDIT 2:

http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=183585

Ubisoft details ZombiU's brutal difficulty, survival mode:

"We really want to target and challenge the gamers with ZombiU because this game is very hard. So for example when you finish the game you will unlock a new mode called Survival Mode. You will have to finish the game with only one life and only one character. We know there are a lot of gamers expecting a lot with the Wii U, so that's why we want to deliver this experience and dedicate it to the gamers." - Ubisoft Monpellier's international product manager Nicolai Bouchai

And here are the two newest trailers for ZombiU:

(Youtube) Developer Diary - Episode 1(Youtube) Gamescom Trailer

It sounds pretty interesting, I hope it turns out well even though I won't be getting it.

I think they're also doing a DS like ghost of other player mechanic where you can see other players playing. That's not official, but it was seen in the demos, but UBI declined to comment on it, but it's speculated that a similar mechanic is being used. I may not get ZombiU, but I just hope it does breathe some life into such an overly saturated genre.

Im really loving how one of core factors is making the players with the controllers have different roles specifically for their controller types. Especially when the Wii U Tablet gets to be the "Mastermind"

I like the sound of character progression, it will make it'll make you fight extra hard to not want to lose that progression. I wonder if the zombie version of a "high level" character would be a tougher kill.

Inspiration from Skyrim because of free roaming environments? Heck I hope so. Having a huge city to explore while being extremely cautious sounds like the perfect zombie game.

thetravman

that is almost certainly not the case. From what I've seen it will be a snaking corridor, crafted experience in the vein of Left for Dead or Demons Souls. If there is an element taken from Skyrim it's probably the way individual skills and abilities improve the more you use them.

"We really want to target and challenge the gamers with ZombiU because this game is very hard. So for example when you finish the game you will unlock a new mode called Survival Mode. You will have to finish the game with only one life and only one character. We know there are a lot of gamers expecting a lot with the Wii U, so that's why we want to deliver this experience and dedicate it to the gamers." - Ubisoft Monpellier's international product manager Nicolai Bouchai

Geez, you are going all out. I admire the devotion and effort.homegirl2180

Thanks. I feel like people should know about a game like this, even though I'm not personally interested. It seems like this development team is putting a lot of effort into the game, so it would be a shame if it got ignored.

that is almost certainly not the case. From what I've seen it will be a snaking corridor, crafted experience in the vein of Left for Dead or Demons Souls. If there is an element taken from Skyrim it's probably the way individual skills and abilities improve the more you use them.

GunSmith1_basic

Ubisoft have said that there are 17 levels which "are bigger" than what we've seen demoed. But like you said- based on everything we know, it's not likely that we'll see much (if any) free roaming environments.

[QUOTE="Sepewrath"]Have people always cared this much about something as irrelevant as a name? knuckl3head

Until the Wii-U, I never had a reason to.

Oh please, I think we're all forgetting how stupid Wii sounded to us back when the name was revealed 7 years ago. Even Xbox got a lot of flak, because, let's face it, it probably has a more pointless name than any other console in decades.

Oh please, I think we're all forgetting how stupid Wii sounded to us back when the name was revealed 7 years ago. Even Xbox got a lot of flak, because, let's face it, it probably has a more pointless name than any other console in decades.homegirl2180

At least they don't sound like an ambulance, especially when you say it more than once.

I don't see why you guys are rushing in to defend the name - its not like you came up with it and I have a hard time believing you think its any good. I don't like the name, so? Its not like its going to deter me from buying any of the products I might like just like I wouldn't buy more even if I thought the name was awesome. I just like to complain and vent that I think its a retarded and confusing name for the wii's predecessor and that probably won't stop here.

[QUOTE="homegirl2180"] Oh please, I think we're all forgetting how stupid Wii sounded to us back when the name was revealed 7 years ago. Even Xbox got a lot of flak, because, let's face it, it probably has a more pointless name than any other console in decades.knuckl3head

At least they don't sound like an ambulance, especially when you say it more than once.

I don't see why you guys are rushing in to defend the name - its not like you came up with it and I have a hard time believing you think its any good. I don't like the name, so? Its not like its going to deter me from buying any of the products I might like just like I wouldn't buy more even if I thought the name was awesome. I just like to complain and vent that I think its a retarded and confusing name for the wii's successor and that probably won't stop here.

Can't speak for anyone else, but for me it's not about defending the Wii U's name, it's about telling the truth, and in general, just getting people to whine less. If someone says something like no other console in history has had a more negative reaction to a name than Wii U, I'd first ask how you measure that, and I'd just point about that a lot of people complaining now will be fine with the name in a year. Lots of things have had stupid names when first shown, and now no one gives a crap. And don't say, "This is the internet. All people do is whine." That doesn't justify it. I just don't like false exaggerations or excessive whining.

Thought Wii was a stupid name when Nintendo first announced it...still think its a stupid name now, hasn't change. Its the same with WiiU. They're just trying to be like Apple "i"whatever stuff ..except trying to be even more different..instead of using the usual numbers...they use alphabet instead. Still a stupid name.

I do think the European box looks a little better, but it's kind of weird how it seems like the zombie is coming at the person while staring off into the distance. The US one doesn't look too bad either, I like how they have a whole hoard of zombies in the background and you can clearly tell the game is set in London.

Every new detail I learn about this game gets me more excited. I am defintely going to get this on day one. I just regret that I'll have no friend who will also be buying a Wii U and ZombiU, but it's their loss. This game will be amazing.

- survival bag for food, ammunition, weapons - will be used physically for weapons like the sniper rifle and crossbow - sonar for seeing where zombies are - scanner for food, other items, weapons, ammunition - scan the infected to see if they are carrying anything - game can be played without the scanner - scanner can get upgrades - eventually scan for serum, which comes from a gland that zombies have - extract serum with syringe - hacking device that reveals stuff and breaks stuff such as CCTV cameras - do this to update your mini-map on the GamePad screen with more info - mini-game that [involves] lock picking - move your finger on the lock to pick the lock - return to safehouse and use workbench to upgrade weapons - player skills: hit certain goals to upgrade your character's skills - lift planks with GamePad to barricade doors